Wearable air conditioners may be the next cool thing
Sony has innovative plans to help keep you cool during summer heat waves.
The consumer electronics company recently announced the Reon Pocket – a smartphone-sized body cooling device you can wear.
The wearable is being crowdfunded through Sony’s First Flight acceleration program in Japan, and prices will start around $117.
While the mini AC won’t keep your body at the perfect temperature in every situation, it could have a noticeable effect on how hot or cold you feel. Hidden in a built-in pocket on a specially designed T-shirt, the device will be able to lower your personal body temperature by 23 degrees or raise it by about 14 degrees, Sony says.
How does it work?
Instead of blowing processed air like your apartment building’s AC, the body-mounted device uses what’s known as the Peltier effect. The effect creates a temperature difference by transferring heat between two objects using electrical currents.
At the time of launch, you’d control the personal thermostat with your smartphone app, but Sony wants to make the device autonomous in the future. The battery-powered wearable can run for 90 minutes on a single charge, and it takes two hours to fully recharge, according to Sony.
The shirts come in men’s sizes only, with small, medium and large available. Sony claims that the pocket is not noticeable when worn. With an expected 2020 ship date to backers, the Reon Pocket is available only in Japan for now. As with many crowdfunded campaigns, big promises made often are beset by product bottlenecks and compromised features. Still, with women raving about freezable bra inserts, there undoubtedly is a market for personal cooling technology.